Thiago Alcántara
Encyclopedia
Thiago Alcântara do Nascimento (born 11 April 1991) is a Spanish
football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga
club FC Barcelona
.
, Italy
and grew up in Spain
. His father is former Brazil
ian World Cup
winner Mazinho
. He started at the lower levels of Flamengo
and at the age of five, he moved to Spain with his father and his cousin Patrick Gude, and started playing with Galician
team Ureca in Nigrán
. He returned to Flamengo aged 10 and, in 2005, once again moved back to Spain, signing with FC Barcelona
, where his cousin Patrick was also playing for Barça.
in the 63rd minute against RCD Mallorca
. On 20 February 2010, after coming on as a subtitute for Yaya Touré
in the 76th minute, Thiago scored his first goal for Barcelona's first team in a 4–0 win against Racing de Santander
at the Camp Nou
. His second goal came in a game against UD Almería
on 9 April 2011, to make the score 2–1. He scored his third goal against Real Sociedad
in a start. He ended the 2010–11 season with 17 games, three goals, and three assists under his belt.
with Spain
, helping his country to eventual victory in the tournament. He was also called up for the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
in France
by Spain
and played a major role in Spain reaching the final. Thiago was ever-present during Spain's victorious 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
campaign, scoring the second goal of a 2–0 victory with a 40-yard free kick in the final against Switzerland.
He was awarded the man of the match
of the final as well as player of the tournament due to his dazzling performances throughout the competition.
on 10 August 2011, while his first competitive match was on 6 September 2011, in a Euro 2012 qualifying match
6-0 win against Liechtenstein
.
winner Mazinho
. His mother, Valéria Alcântara, was a former volleyball
player. His younger brother, Rafinha
, is currently a member of FC Barcelona B
.
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
football player. He currently plays as a central midfielder for La Liga
La Liga
The Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
club FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
.
Early years
Thiago was born in San Pietro VernoticoSan Pietro Vernotico
San Pietro Vernotico is a town and comune in the province of Brindisi in Puglia, on the south-east Italy coast. Its main economic activities are tourism and the growing of olives and grapes...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
and grew up in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
. His father is former Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
ian World Cup
FIFA World Cup
The FIFA World Cup, often simply the World Cup, is an international association football competition contested by the senior men's national teams of the members of Fédération Internationale de Football Association , the sport's global governing body...
winner Mazinho
Mazinho
Iomar do Nascimento, known as Mazinho , is a Brazilian football manager and former player, and the former head coach of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.-Club career:...
. He started at the lower levels of Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
Clube de Regatas do Flamengo , also known as Flamengo and familiarly as Mengão, is a Brazilian sports club based in the Flamengo bairro, Zona Sul, Rio de Janeiro, best known for its professional football team...
and at the age of five, he moved to Spain with his father and his cousin Patrick Gude, and started playing with Galician
Galician
Galician can refer to:* Something of, from, or related to Galicia * Galician language* Galician people, an ethnic group of Galicia, Spain* Galician wine, wine produced in Galicia, Spain*Galician cuisine- See also :* Galicia...
team Ureca in Nigrán
Nigrán
Nigrán is a municipality of Galicia, Spain in the province of Pontevedra, near Vigo, the most important town in Galicia.- External links :******...
. He returned to Flamengo aged 10 and, in 2005, once again moved back to Spain, signing with FC Barcelona
FC Barcelona
Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain....
, where his cousin Patrick was also playing for Barça.
Early career
On 17 May 2009, aged 18 years old, Thiago made his debut with the first team when he came on as a substitute for Eiður GuðjohnsenEiður Guðjohnsen
Eiður Smári Guðjohnsen is an Icelandic footballer who currently plays for AEK Athens F.C. in the Superleague Greece. He has previously played for Premier League club Chelsea and FC Barcelona of Spain, having made his name with Bolton Wanderers. He was the captain of the Iceland national team until...
in the 63rd minute against RCD Mallorca
RCD Mallorca
Real Club Deportivo Mallorca is a Spanish football team based on Palma, Majorca, in the Balearic Islands. Founded on 5 March 1916, the team currently plays in the Spanish first division, holding home games at Son Moix....
. On 20 February 2010, after coming on as a subtitute for Yaya Touré
Yaya Touré
Gnégnéri Yaya Touré , commonly known as Yaya Touré, is an Ivorian footballer who currently plays as a midfielder for Premier League club Manchester City and the Côte d'Ivoire national side...
in the 76th minute, Thiago scored his first goal for Barcelona's first team in a 4–0 win against Racing de Santander
Racing de Santander
Real Racing Club de Santander, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Santander, in the autonomous community of Cantabria. Founded in 1913, it currently plays in La Liga, holding home games at Estadio El Sardinero, with a capacity for 22,400 spectators....
at the Camp Nou
Camp Nou
Camp Nou , sometimes called "the Nou Camp" in English, is a football stadium in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. The stadium, located in the west of the city, has been the home of FC Barcelona since its construction in 1957....
. His second goal came in a game against UD Almería
UD Almería
Unión Deportiva Almería, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in Almería, in the autonomous community of Andalusia. Founded in 1989 as Almería Club de Fútbol, it currently plays in Segunda División, holding home games at Estadio de los Juegos Mediterráneos, with a 22,000-seat...
on 9 April 2011, to make the score 2–1. He scored his third goal against Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad
Real Sociedad de Fútbol, S.A.D. is a Spanish football club based in the city of San Sebastián, Basque Country, founded on 7 September 1909...
in a start. He ended the 2010–11 season with 17 games, three goals, and three assists under his belt.
Promotion
On 29 June 2011, Thiago signed a contract renewal keeping him at Barcelona until 30 June 2015, with a buyout clause of €90 million.Youth team
He participated in the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship
The final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship was the 26th UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, UEFA's premier football tournament for players under the age of 17. The tournament was held in Turkey from 4 May to 16 May 2008...
with Spain
Spain national under-17 football team
The Spain national under-17 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain....
, helping his country to eventual victory in the tournament. He was also called up for the 2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
2010 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship
-Group B:---------------------Bracket:-Semi-finals:-----Final:-Goalscorers:4 goals Daniel Pacheco3 goals Zvonko Pamić Cédric Bakambu Alexandre Lacazette...
in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
by Spain
Spain national under-19 football team
The Spain national under-19 football team represents Spain in international football at this age level and is controlled by Royal Spanish Football Federation, the governing body for football in Spain.-UEFA European Under-19 Championship Record:...
and played a major role in Spain reaching the final. Thiago was ever-present during Spain's victorious 2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
2011 UEFA European Under-21 Football Championship
UEFA U-21 Championship 2011 was the 18th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Denmark between 11 and 25 June 2011....
campaign, scoring the second goal of a 2–0 victory with a 40-yard free kick in the final against Switzerland.
He was awarded the man of the match
Man of the match
In sport, a Man of the Match or Player of the Game or Man of the Series award is given to the outstanding player, almost always the one who makes the most impact, in a particular match or series. The term was originally used more often in cricket before being adopted by other sports. This can be a...
of the final as well as player of the tournament due to his dazzling performances throughout the competition.
Senior team
He made his first appearance for Spain's senior squad in a friendly against ItalyItaly national football team
The Italy National Football Team , represents Italy in association football and is controlled by the Italian Football Federation , the governing body for football in Italy. Italy is the second most successful national team in the history of the World Cup having won four titles , just one fewer than...
on 10 August 2011, while his first competitive match was on 6 September 2011, in a Euro 2012 qualifying match
UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying Group I
This page shows the standings and results for Group I of the UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying tournament.- Standings :- Results and fixtures :Group I fixtures were negotiated between the participants at a meeting in Madrid, Spain, on 19 February 2010....
6-0 win against Liechtenstein
Liechtenstein national football team
The Liechtenstein national football team is the national football team of Liechtenstein and is controlled by the Liechtenstein Football Association. The organisation is known as the Liechtensteiner Fussballverband in German. The team's first match was an unofficial match against Malta in Seoul, a...
.
Football career statistics
As of 29 November 2011| Club | Season | League | Cup | Europe UEFA The Union of European Football Associations , almost always referred to by its acronym UEFA is the administrative and controlling body for European association football, futsal and beach soccer.... |
Other | Total | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | Apps | Goals | |||||
| Barcelona B FC Barcelona B Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their... |
2007–08 | 5 | 0 | – | 5 | 0 | ||||||||
| 2008–09 | 25 | 0 | – | 25 | 0 | |||||||||
| 2009–10 2009–10 Segunda División B The 2009–10 Segunda División B season was the 79th since its establishment. The first matches of the season were played on 29 August 2009, and the season ended on 20 June 2010 with the promotion play-off finals.- Group 1:... |
18 | 3 | – | 18 | 3 | |||||||||
| 2010–11 2010–11 Segunda División -Personnel and sponsorship:-Managerial changes:-League table:||style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|||rowspan=11 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|-Positions by round:Source: -Results:... |
11 | 0 | – | 11 | 0 | |||||||||
| Total | 59 | 3 | Barcelona FC Barcelona Futbol Club Barcelona , also known as Barcelona and familiarly as Barça, is a professional football club, based in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.... | 2008–09 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 |
| 2009–10 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 1 | ||||
| 2010–11 2010–11 FC Barcelona season The 2010–11 season is Futbol Club Barcelona's 117th in existence and the club's 79th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football... |
12 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 3 | ||||
| 2011–12 2010–11 FC Barcelona season The 2010–11 season is Futbol Club Barcelona's 117th in existence and the club's 79th consecutive season in the top flight of Spanish football... |
13 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 17 | 1 | ||||
| Total | 27 | 4 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 37 | 5 | ||||
| Career totals | 86 | 7 | 4 | 1 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 96 | 8 | ||||
Personal
He is the son of the former Brazilian footballer and 1994 World Cup1994 FIFA World Cup
The 1994 FIFA World Cup, the 15th staging of the FIFA World Cup, was held in nine cities across the United States from June 17 to July 17, 1994. The United States was chosen as the host by FIFA on July 4, 1988...
winner Mazinho
Mazinho
Iomar do Nascimento, known as Mazinho , is a Brazilian football manager and former player, and the former head coach of Greek club Aris Thessaloniki.-Club career:...
. His mother, Valéria Alcântara, was a former volleyball
Volleyball
Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules.The complete rules are extensive...
player. His younger brother, Rafinha
Rafa Alcântara
Rafael Alcântara do Nascimento , aka Rafinha, is a Brazilian-Spanish footballer who plays for FC Barcelona B as an attacking midfielder.-Football career:...
, is currently a member of FC Barcelona B
FC Barcelona B
Futbol Club Barcelona B is a Spanish football team. They are the reserve team of FC Barcelona. Reserve teams in the Spanish football league system play in the same football pyramid as their senior team rather than a separate league. However reserve teams cannot play in the same division as their...
.
Barcelona
- La LigaLa LigaThe Primera División of the Liga Nacional de Fútbol Profesional , commonly known as La Liga or, for sponsorship reasons, Liga BBVA since 2008, is the top professional association football division of the Spanish football league system...
: 3
-
- 2008–09, 2009–102009–10 La Liga- Personnel and sponsoring :- Before the start of the season :- During the season :-League table:||rowspan=1 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|||rowspan=1 style="background-color:#F9F9F9;"|...
, 2010–112010–11 La LigaThe 2010–11 La Liga season was the 80th since its establishment. The campaign began on 28 August 2010 and ended on 21 May 2011. A total of 20 teams contested the league, 17 of which already contested in the 2009–10 season and three of which were promoted from the Segunda División...
- Spanish SupercupSupercopa de EspañaThe Supercopa de España is a Spanish football championship contested by the winners of La Liga and the Copa del Rey...
: 2
- Spanish Supercup
- 20102010 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2010 Supercopa de España was a two-legged Spanish football match-up played on 14 August and 21 August 2010. It was contested by Sevilla, the 2009–10 Copa del Rey winners, and Barcelona, the 2009–10 Primera División winners....
, 20112011 Supercopa de EspañaThe 2011 Supercopa de España was a two-legged Spanish football match-up that was played on 14 and 17 August 2011. It was contested by Real Madrid, the 2010–11 Copa del Rey winners, and Barcelona, the 2010–11 La Liga winners....
- UEFA Champions LeagueUEFA Champions LeagueThe UEFA Champions League, known simply the Champions League and originally known as the European Champion Clubs' Cup or European Cup, is an annual international club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations since 1955 for the top football clubs in Europe. It...
: 1
- UEFA Champions League
- 2010–11
- UEFA Super Cup: 1
- 20112011 UEFA Super Cup-External links:*, UEFA.com...
- 2008–09, 2009–10
Spain
- Under-17 European ChampionshipUEFA European Under-17 Football ChampionshipThe UEFA U-17 Championship is an annual football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. From 1982 to 2001 it was an Under-16 event.This meeting serves as a preliminary competition for the FIFA U-17 World Cup every other year....
: 1
-
- 20082008 UEFA European Under-17 Football ChampionshipThe final tournament of the 2008 UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship was the 26th UEFA European Under-17 Football Championship, UEFA's premier football tournament for players under the age of 17. The tournament was held in Turkey from 4 May to 16 May 2008...
- 2008
- Under-21 European ChampionshipUEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipThe European Under-21 Football Championship is a football competition organised by the sport's European governing body, UEFA. It is held every two years. The competition has existed in its current form since 1978. It was preceded by the Under 23 Challenge Cup which ran from 1967 to 1970...
: 1
-
- 20112011 UEFA European Under-21 Football ChampionshipUEFA U-21 Championship 2011 was the 18th staging of UEFA's European Under-21 Football Championship. The final tournament was hosted by Denmark between 11 and 25 June 2011....
- 2011